Vegetarian Chickens?

[LauraGB]

Everywhere I look, I see eggs with the "vegetarian" label. I always thought that chickens were not naturally vegetarians - am I wrong? I know owners feed seed, but is this all free range chickens eat?

 

And, what would be the benefit for buying a "vegetarian" chicken egg? Is it just a marketing ploy?

 

Thanks for any input.

[Gretchen in NJ]

Chickens eat insects too. Maybe they just mean that the supplemental food is vegetarian? Unless, they are not free range chickens.

[Hen]

our hens eat bugs- they love snails. We send them to the neighbor's houses once in a while to clean out their snails. We also feed our hens scrambled eggs sometimes when they are molting...they get a little anemic, so I give them scrambled eggs with spinach. They like to get into the cat food too.

[H.S. Burrow]

Gretchen is correct. Free range chickens eat insects (& worms I think!). These are not free range chickens.

These chickens have a very strict diet of vegan feed. The vegan feed must past very rigid quality control standards for the eggs and poultry to be certified vegetarian.

[Renee in NC]

The biggest benefit to "vegetarian chickens" is that they are not fed chicken fat or chicken by-products - both of which are fed to conventional chickens.

[Spy Car]

Chickens that actually forage will, of course, eat bugs (a lot of bugs). They are not vegetarians.

 

But chickens don't generally eat cows, and certainly not the scraps off the slaughter-house floor.

 

I like to feed our chickens vegetarian food and let them get bugs in the yard. Having "meat-by-products" from goodness-knows-what source fed to them, and there-by havin it enter our food-chain (by eating their eggs) is not something I want to do.

 

I'm also concerned that unrefrigerated chicken feed with meat products mixed in is a great opportunity for the feed to go rancid.

 

I have fed my chickens table scraps of fish and meat (which they eat with gusto) but I don't want them eating anything I wouldn't eat.

 

As for "free-range" chickens...I think you might be shocked to learn how little this standard really means in the "industrial" chicken-raising context.

 

Bill

[LauraGB]

Thank you for clarifying the worm/insect thing and the other input.

 

I have one more question. What is the difference between "Free Farmed" and "Free Range"? The eggs currently in my fridge claim to be "cage free, laid in nests and free farmed". These same eggs do not claim to be vegetarian, but do claim to feed only roasted grain.

 

:confused::confused::confused:

 

I suppose it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but I wish there was just a more uniform way to make things clear in the world of food!

[threetreasurs]

I had no idea that there was such variety in what people feed chickens!

[nmoira]

The biggest benefit to "vegetarian chickens" is that they are not fed chicken fat or chicken by-products - both of which are fed to conventional chickens.

:iagree: and I suggest not doing further research into what "conventional" chickens are fed if you have a squeamish stomach.

 

IIRC, there's also an issue with organic chickens that you cannot feed them insects, etc. can still call them organic. They can forage and find their own and still be classified organic though.

[Renee in NC]

Thank you for clarifying the worm/insect thing and the other input.

 

I have one more question. What is the difference between "Free Farmed" and "Free Range"? The eggs currently in my fridge claim to be "cage free, laid in nests and free farmed". These same eggs do not claim to be vegetarian, but do claim to feed only roasted grain.

 

:confused::confused::confused:

 

I suppose it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but I wish there was just a more uniform way to make things clear in the world of food!

 

Free range simply means that they have access to the outside - even if that access is a 25x25 foot yard at one end of a 400 foot long chicken house that most of the 10,000 chickens in the house never venture into.

 

Never heard of "free-farmed" but cage-free usually means still in a chicken house but on the open floor as opposed to in a cage.

 

I could give you all kinds of details regarding the nastiness that goes on in the commercial poultry production world, but I will spare you the details...:D

[Mom2GirlsTX]

Free range simply means that they have access to the outside - even if that access is a 25x25 foot yard at one end of a 400 foot long chicken house that most of the 10,000 chickens in the house never venture into.

 

Never heard of "free-farmed" but cage-free usually means still in a chicken house but on the open floor as opposed to in a cage.

 

I could give you all kinds of details regarding the nastiness that goes on in the commercial poultry production world, but I will spare you the details...:D

 

This is so true and just marketing ploy to make it sound like their chickens are treated more humanely. You know I just hate chickens being mistreated, it must come from Henrietta, my pet chicken who rode on my handlebars of my bike all over town when I was a kid :D Thinking of her being locked up in a cage just depresses me :)

If you want healthy eggs, try and find someone local who has a few chickens lets their chickens roam the yard and eat bugs, etc. There are lots of small mom and pop operations who raise healthy, humanely raised chicken/eggs.

[Doran]

Chickens are omnivores. I've seen them eat a nest of baby mice - gulp, gulp, gulp! IMO, they are BEST RAISED with a diet rich in protein from varied sources. If they are part of a small flock, they can forage for insects. But, unless they are able to range in a fairly wide area, they probably cannot forage enough protein. Too many chicken owners keep their birds locked in a permanent space and then feed nothing but corn scratch. This will not meet the long term dietary needs of a chicken.

 

It takes real effort to make a balanced feed for chickens that does not include meat or seafood products. The roasting of soybeans renders the beans more digestible for the birds, and allows the proteins to be more accessible. But, it's a step that has to be taken because the commercial operations were using all manner of meat refuse in their feeds. Animal by products might mean ground up birds, feather meal, blood meal from slaughter houses. Now, chickens are not picky, and they can be carnivorous, so it's not out of the biological question that they would eat other chickens, or chicken by-products. This is a good thing, because most commercial feeds include "poultry meal" as well as "meat/bone meal", "feathermeal" and other protein sources. The trend toward vegetarian feeds came in the aftermath of Mad Cow and other disease scares which were traced back to the feeding of meat products to cows, which are herbivores. Consumers began to request vegetarian feeds for all livestock (at least, this is my assumption) and manufacturers answered with feeds deriving their protein from sources other than animal/fish products.

 

The pdf copied below (I wanted to attach it but the file size was too large :glare:) will help you with the finer points of the various labeling terms now being used on eggs and poultry products. Free farmed, as I understand it, is a designation that means there as been some sort of certification to assure that the animals were treated humanely.

 

--------------

 

Glossary of Meat Production Methods

100% Vegetarian Feed Animals are not fed any animal byproducts. This does not guarantee they were raised outdoors or on pasture, but it should indicate that they were raised on grasses, hay, silage and other feed found on pasture or in a field. Grain, like corn, is vegetarian and falls into this category. Producers feeding their animals a 100% vegetarian diet should not be giving them supplements or additives, but it is always best to check with the farmer.

 

Biodynamic This holistic method of agriculture is certified by a third-party agency and is based on the philosophy that all aspects of the farm should be treated as an interrelated whole. Having emerged as the first non-chemical agriculture movement approximately 20 years before the development or "organic" agriculture, biodynamics has now spread throughout the world. Biodynamic farmers work in harmony with nature and use a variety of techniques, such as crop rotation and on-farm composting, to foster a sustainable and productive environment.

Cage Free Birds are raised without cages. What this doesn't explain is if the birds were raised outdoors on pasture, if they had access to outside, or if they were raised indoors in overcrowded conditions. If you are looking to buy eggs, poultry or meat that was raised outdoors, look for a label that says "Pastured" or "Pasture-raised."

 

Free-range/roaming "Free Range" or "Free Roaming" means that the animal had some access to the outdoors each day. However, this doesn't guarantee that the animal actually spent any time outside. As long as a door to the outdoors is left open for some period of time, the animal can be considered Free Range. Although the USDA has defined this term for chicken raised for consumption, no standards have been set for egg-laying chickens or for other animals. If you are looking to buy eggs, poultry or meat that was raised outdoors, look for a label that says "Pastured" or "Pastureraised."

 

Grass-fed Animals eat grasses from start to finish. They should not be supplemented with grain, animal byproducts, synthetic hormones, or be given antibiotics to promote growth or prevent disease (though they might be given antibiotics to treat disease). Note that 'grass-fed' does not guarantee that the animal was pastured or pasture-raised. While most grass-fed animals are pasture-raised, some may still be confined and fed a steady diet of grasses.

 

Grass-fed, Grain supplemented Animals are raised on pasture and eat grasses. At a certain point, grains are slowly introduced into the diet in a controlled amount, along with the grasses. By controlling the amount of grain, the animals do not become sick and do not develop digestion problems that solely grain-fed cattle can encounter. They are also not forced to eat the grain.

 

Heritage Heritage foods are derived from rare and endangered breeds of livestock and crops. Animals are purebreds, a specific breed of animal that is near extinction. Production standards are not required by law, but true heritage farmers use sustainable production methods. This method of production saves animals from extinction and preserves genetic diversity.

 

No Added Hormones Animals were raised without added growth hormones. By law, hogs and poultry cannot be given any hormones - so the use of the label on these meats is misleading! To ensure that other meats were raised without added hormones, ask your farmer or butcher.

 

No Antibiotic Use No antibiotics were administered to the animal during its lifetime. If an animal becomes sick, it will be taken out of the herd and treated but it will not be sold with this label.

No Routine Antibiotic Use Antibiotics were not given to the animal to promote growth or to prevent disease, but may have been administered if the animal became ill.

 

Non-confined Animals not confined in a feedlot, and have continuous access to the outside throughout their lifecycle.

 

Organic In order to be labeled "organic," a product, its producer, and the farmer must meet the USDA's organic standards and must be certified by a USDA-approved food-certifying agency. Organic foods cannot be grown using synthetic fertilizers, chemicals, or sewage sludge, cannot be genetically modified, and cannot be irradiated. Organic meat and poultry must be fed only organically-grown feed (without any animal byproducts) and cannot be treated with hormones or antibiotics. Furthermore, the animals must have access to the outdoors, and ruminants must have access to pasture (which doesn't mean they actually have to go outdoors and graze on pasture to be considered organic).

 

Pasture-raised In general, pasturing is a traditional farming technique where animals are raised outdoors in a humane, ecologically sustainable manner and eat foods that nature intended them to eat. Animals are raised on pasture rather than being fattened on a feedlot or in a confined facility.

 

To find food raised using these methods, please visit the Eat Well Guide at http://www.eatwellguide.org.

 

-------------

 

HTH ~ :001_smile:

[Storm Bay]

This is so true and just marketing ploy to make it sound like their chickens are treated more humanely. You know I just hate chickens being mistreated, it must come from Henrietta, my pet chicken who rode on my handlebars of my bike all over town when I was a kid :D Thinking of her being locked up in a cage just depresses me :)

If you want healthy eggs, try and find someone local who has a few chickens lets their chickens roam the yard and eat bugs, etc. There are lots of small mom and pop operations who raise healthy, humanely raised chicken/eggs.

 

Yes, this is the way to do it. Some of the horrid things done are done due to laws that don't allow egg chickens to later be sold for meat, or so I was told by an egg supplier who let my ds toot his truck horn (long story, won't bore you with all the details.)

[Heather in the Kootenays]

I was amazed when I saw one of my hens catch and eat a mouse.

[Sahamamama]

Chickens that actually forage will, of course, eat bugs (a lot of bugs).... I have fed my chickens table scraps of fish and meat (which they eat with gusto) but I don't want them eating anything I wouldn't eat.

 

Bill

 

Hi, Bill. So, do you eat bugs? ;)

[LauraGB]

Chickens are omnivores. I've seen them eat a nest of baby mice - gulp, gulp, gulp! IMO, they are BEST RAISED with a diet rich in protein from varied sources.

 

This is what I thought! I usually get my eggs from the organic from where we get our milk, and we have discussed this very thing! But the farm is 1 1/2 hrs away and I haven't had time to go lately :glare:, so I've been trying to decide what to get at the store. I was thrown by all the different claims on the numerous egg selections! It used to be just the one brand of eggs years ago before we started getting our stuff from "The Farm" - and now there are so many choices! Thank you so much for being so thorough!

 

We drive past a production chicken get up on our way to our farm which is thoroughly visible from the road - VERY SCARY. In the winter time the rows of stacked wall-less cages are wrapped in black plastic. That's it. It gets -30 degrees sometimes here in the winter. Thank you for sparing me the rest of the gory details - it breaks my heart.

[Spy Car]

Hi, Bill. So, do you eat bugs? ;)

 

Ah ha! I was afraid someone would catch that :glare::D

 

And, yea, I've eaten my share of bugs.

 

Bill (who will remind you, boys will be boys :tongue_smilie:)

[Saille]

Thanks for the labeling standards! I read Dr. Sears' Family Nutrition Book a while ago, and the part about labeling was by far the most interesting section.

 

We feed organic (vegetarian) feed, but my hens have the run of my land and forage all day...not to mention the juicer pomace our volunteer brings when she comes over!

 

When my girls were just pullets, they were kept in a pen in our garage at night, and I was blown away when I found a dead mouse while cleaning out the pen. They'd clearly killed it, but were presumably too little to do any more with it. I was very impressed...I've wondered if that explains why I've never had vermin in the feed, despite keeping it in a plastic tote that isn't chew-proof.

[MyThreeSons]

These are not free range chickens.

 

These chickens have a very strict diet of vegan feed. The vegan feed must past very rigid quality control standards for the eggs and poultry to be certified vegetarian.

 

How can they guarantee that the chickens don't eat any insects?

[Saille]

That makes me wonder if they use insecticidal spray in the barns, actually. Otherwise, there's really no way you *could* guarantee it, is there?

 

Now I have this vision of space-age chickens in a sterile white room.

[Renee in NC]

Yes, this is the way to do it. Some of the horrid things done are done due to laws that don't allow egg chickens to later be sold for meat, or so I was told by an egg supplier who let my ds toot his truck horn (long story, won't bore you with all the details.)

 

Laying hens are only used for one laying cycle and then sent for meat. This is the meat that ends up in things like chicken noodle soup and frozen chicken casserole types of meals.

[Mom2GirlsTX]

That makes me wonder if they use insecticidal spray in the barns, actually. Otherwise, there's really no way you *could* guarantee it, is there?

 

Now I have this vision of space-age chickens in a sterile white room.

 

2001 Space Odysey free range chickens :lol::lol::lol:

[Storm Bay]

Laying hens are only used for one laying cycle and then sent for meat. This is the meat that ends up in things like chicken noodle soup and frozen chicken casserole types of meals.

 

 

So what are the stories we hear of their so-called cruel slaughter? I'm so glad they're eaten!

[H.S. Burrow]

How can they guarantee that the chickens don't eat any insects?

 

That's a good question and I don't know for certain. I know the requirements for the eggs to be certified vegetarian eggs include vegan feed. I would think this info would be on the USDA website.

 

I would also assume that the USDA inspects the chicken houses for these chickens to ensure there is nothing else in there for the chickens to eat....but I don't know.

[*anj*]

Chickens that actually forage will, of course, eat bugs (a lot of bugs). They are not vegetarians.

 

But chickens don't generally eat cows, and certainly not the scraps off the slaughter-house floor.

 

 

Exactly. I want my chickens to eat what chickens should naturally be eating. Bugs and worms are part of their normal diet, but sewage is not (or shouldn't be anyhow!) Unless you want to change the way you eat, you probably don't want to go digging into this very deeply. It reminds me of that line from "Ohio."

 

Instead of

"What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground?

How can you run when you know?"

 

I'd say

"What if they fed them sewage, things found dead on the ground?

How can you eat it when you know?"

[Renee in NC]

That's a good question and I don't know for certain. I know the requirements for the eggs to be certified vegetarian eggs include vegan feed. I would think this info would be on the USDA website.

 

I would also assume that the USDA inspects the chicken houses for these chickens to ensure there is nothing else in there for the chickens to eat....but I don't know.

 

The USDA does not generally inspect chicken houses unless they are given some reason to. I can guarantee you that the chickens in those houses are eating bugs, flies, and each other! You can't keep a chicken from eating things in the environment. My guess is that vegan feed is to prevent animal by-products, not bugs.

 

So what are the stories we hear of their so-called cruel slaughter? I'm so glad they're eaten!

 

I don't know. It probably depends on the company, but why would any company kill them for the sake of killing them? Worst case they go to dog food.

 

And dog food is a whole 'nother topic you don't want to know about.